


Christmas Eve

by lemonadefairies



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Aged Up, College AU, F/M, Fluff, Modern AU, christmas break, literally just a self indulgent fluff fic, richie is a lit student
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27161800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonadefairies/pseuds/lemonadefairies
Summary: Richie brings home his new girlfriend to the Loser’s Christmas Eve dinner. Of all people, they didn’t expect her.
Relationships: Richie Tozier/OC, richie tozier/ original character
Kudos: 4





	Christmas Eve

From a first glance, you would never tell that they would be dating or hell - even get along as friends. Especially not those who knew them in Derry. In high school, Alice was demure and polite to anyone and everyone. She had light hair and shining eyes that were windows to her thoughts. 

Richie, however, was not. He was loud and obnoxious and made too many comments in class. He had dark hair, dark eyes and wore eccentric patterned shirts with mismatched socks and his staple coke bottle glasses that made his eyes look much larger than they were. He had definitely matured since high school, but he was still the same Richie, albeit wearing more chains and dark denim than Hawaiian printed shirts. Alice, however, had changed quite a bit since her time in Derry. She was still the same from the outside, with the fashion sense of a 40-year-old male English teacher. But she had developed confidence while away at college, and now had a quick tongue to match with her fiery wit. She was almost unrecognisable without an introduction. This is why Alice Lockwood was the last person the Losers expected to show up to their dinner. 

They were two and a half years out of high school and were organising a reunion over their Christmas break from college. None of them were exactly shocked when Richie asked to bring his girlfriend; the others would bring their partners sometimes too, and they had been dating for six months now, they were more shocked that she would be in Derry for Christmas Day implying that she lived there, and also that Richie would only tell them her first name. “You’ll never believe me if I tell you,” he responded to Bev’s interrogation over facetime. Obviously the word had spread around their friendship group and they were all buzzing to meet this mystery Alice. 

The day had finally come, Christmas Eve. Richie and Eddie were setting up Richie’s basement as his parents were on another work trip, the perfect opportunity for a group of 20-year-olds to reconnect. Richie was wearing a hideous bright red and green Christmas sweater while Eddie had opted for a plain maroon knit sweater instead.   
“Come on, we’re best friends and you’ve kept this girl hidden for months now, can’t you just tell me?” Eddie begged, dragging a chair next to the roughed up sofa.   
“Patience, Eddie Spaghetti, you’ll meet Alice soon enough, promise you’ll be nice to her though,”   
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Eddie bat his eyelashes then laughed, turning to arrange some pillows.   
“If only you knew,” chuckled Richie quietly. The couple weren’t exactly friends through school; Alice had a few friends that she would sit with in class but she stuck mainly to the books, and while they were polite enough, Richie teased her (bothered her, really) often and the losers had the vague impression she was odd. She would always laugh it off though, sometimes giving him a sharp mouthed reply that no one else seemed to hear. That’s what he liked about her, Alice was full of surprises and he was completely devoted to finding every one. 

Eddie was pulled into thought. This girl must be really special. He had noticed three main things that confirmed his theory. One, Richie was healthier. He had been diagnosed with ADHD for most of his life, and while he had been medicated since he was a teenager, the habit never really kicked in and he was constantly forgetting to take his pills which just made him more miserable and uncomfortable in his own skin. Over the Christmas break, he had seemed more relaxed and in control. Eddie knew that a girl could never fix him, but he automatically approved of one who made his best friend feel like himself again. Two, he was more private. Richie had always made sex jokes, ever since he learned what a dick was. But recently Eddie had noticed while he still made jokes, they were always aimed at other people, he had almost completely stopped talking about his own sex life. Sure, if he was asked he would boast about how sexy his girlfriend was and admit that they definitely ‘did it’, but it was never Richie who brought it up, or made gross comments about Alice’s body or what she could do with it. Three, Richie was gentle. He had always been polite, but the warmth that filled his eyes and cheeks when he was talking about his girlfriend - Eddie couldn’t help but admit that he wanted it. It was so pure and well-intentioned, he could tell that Richie was head over heels, and the fall wasn’t coming to an end any time soon. 

The clock was slowly ticking and one by one the gang all trickled in, filling the room with warmth. At five minutes past nine, the doorbell rang.   
“Ooh is this Alice?” Bev laughed and grinned a wide mouth smile.   
“I’ll go get her, play nice,” Richie instructed before running up the stairs. He opened the door to be met with Alice standing under a purple umbrella, her fingers and cheeks flushed red from the cold. She was dressed neatly, a long brown coat over a cream turtleneck and brown checkered pants.   
“Sorry I’m late, all these houses look the same,”   
“What are you talking about, you're right on time,” She smiled and shook the water off her umbrella before stepping inside. 

The couple shared a sweet kiss as Richie removed the coat from her shoulders. They embraced for a minute, taking in each other’s scents before Richie snapped out of it.   
“Oh fuck, I forgot about my friends. Follow me, Al,” He led her down the hallway to the descending flight of stairs. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present my girlfriend,” Richie did small jazz hands as he revealed Alice standing uncomfortably in her small brown heels.   
“Um, hi-”  
“Alice Lockwood?” The group exclaimed and she looked at them quizzically.   
“Richie! Did they not know we were dating?” She smacked him lightly on the bicep.   
“Uh, oops? In my defence, would they have believed me if I told them?” 

“I genuinely would not have,” Eddie butt in. Alice laughed, her voice soft and airy.   
“I don’t blame you- hello, Eddie, by the way. I’ve heard so much about all of you, you really sound like you had the best time in high school,”   
The losers shared a humoured look, knowing they had their name for a reason.   
“And we know nothing about you,” Bev looked at Richie, “Since your boyfriend was so adamant on keeping you hidden away from us.” Richie lifted his hands in surrender, shrugging.   
“Oh Richie, are you ashamed of me?” Alice feigned sadness.   
“What’s there to be ashamed of? You’re perfect,” He swooped to her height to quickly press a kiss on her cheek. The others watched their PDA quietly. Although Richie had definitely dated a lot of people, never had they seen him be so loving. 

“Is anyone else weirded out by Richie acting like a normal human being?” Stan stage whispered and the others agreed; it was so unlike Richie to be gentlemanly and not talk about sex.   
“Enough gossiping about me, I’m going to go reheat the pizzas, Ben?” Richie made a summoning motion with his fingers and Ben followed to the kitchen. 

Alice shyly took a seat on one of the three sofas placed in the triangle and the losers immediately bombarded her with questions.   
“So Alice, what are you studying?”   
“How’d you and Richie meet - again,”   
“How’d a loser like Richard score a girl like you?”   
Alice giggled, slightly overwhelmed.   
“Oh, Richie and I met in an optional lecture, what was it on, love?” She raised her voice a bit so Richie could hear her question.   
“The Waste Land by T.S Eliot,”   
“Right, that. Obviously, Richie’s an English lit student and I major in history so we were both interested. He came in five minutes late and sat next to me. He wouldn’t stop talking, as usual, and gave me his own commentary. After the lecture we saw each other in the library a few times and bumped into each other at Starbucks and eventually, he asked me out,” She explained and Mike laughed.   
“I know that it’s been like two years but the idea of Richie studying T.S Eliot is absurd to me.”   
“Or Richie going to something optional for school,” Bev contributed. 

“Hey! I’m an intellectual now, you know,” Richie and Ben entered carrying trays of pizza. Bill snorted.   
“Yeah ok, Richie,” Richie scoffed in false annoyance before the group started tearing into the food. They ate and shared stories for hours and Alice felt strangely at home among the group. At some point, Richie had slung an arm over her shoulder, and she cuddled into his side, savouring his warmth. If there was one thing she didn't miss about Derry, it was the freezing winters. 

She was learning so much about the losers, Stan was studying biology, she remembered him excelling in her tenth-grade class. Bev was bi and had been experimenting with girls and guys while she was away. Eddie was gay but had been single for the majority of college. Mike was studying law and Bill was also an English major. Ben had started his own conspiracy blog, and Alice didn’t know if she was shocked or not. Either way, the group welcomed her warmly. 

“I just can’t believe you two of all people got together, like what are the odds?” Eddie remarked making Alice blush.   
“I think we balance each other out,” Alice replied. “Richie is… such a distinct character that he needs someone boring like me to bring him down,”   
“You, boring? Never. You’re the daughter every parent wants,” Bev complimented her.   
“I couldn’t function without her,” Richie laced their fingers together, “She reminds me to take my meds and go to sleep before three am. And of course, she’s hot as fuck,” There was the Richie they all knew and loved. However, the immaturity of it was gone. No longer was it Trashmouth Tozier trying to get into someone’s pants, instead, it was Richie making a joke with someone he loved.   
“Richie!” Alice exclaimed, a blush evident on her cheeks. Times like this was when you could really tell how opposite they were; dirty jokes and cussing were Richie’s reputation, however, no one could picture Alice saying fuck, well, anyone other than Richie of course. He heard her say it quite a lot behind closed doors. 

The night was spent with lots of reminiscing and storytelling, and quite a few of the losers ended up more than a little bit tipsy. They were sorting out where everyone was going to sleep for the night, as it was too cold for them to walk home and they were too drunk to drive. The group had settled in, layering blankets and relying on body heat and Richie was the first asleep, as always. For someone who stays up so late he really did pass out as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

“Hey, Alice,” Someone whispered and Alice sat up. A flashlight turned on and the rest of the losers gathered toward it.   
“We just wanted to say that you’re really cool, and we’re seriously happy for you and Richie, even if we seemed weird earlier tonight,” Stan confessed and Alice smiled.   
“Yeah, and why weren’t we friends in high school? You would have fit in with us great,” Eddie said.   
“No offence but if I had hung out with you guys I would have been bullied so bad. You hung out as a group, and although it made you stronger, it also made you more noticeable. Everyone knew where you sat in the cafeteria, especially Bowers. No one knew me, and that’s what I wanted. You know, I was going through a lot of family stuff then, and it was prime bullying material. If I moved around a lot, changed where I was and who I talked to, I was harder to find.”   
“Damn girl, you thought this through,” Bev looked impressed but Alice just shrugged. 

The group got to know each other a bit more, whispering over the torchlight.   
“You know that Richie loves you, right?” Eddie blurted, then covered his mouth.   
“What?”   
“It’s obvious isn’t it? He looks at you like you’re his world. He raves about you all the time too, about how great you are and how he’s so glad he met you. We’ve been best friends for years and I know him better than he knows himself; he’s mad for you, Alice.” 

Alice took a moment to let that sink in. She hadn’t put too much thought into whether Richie loved her, she had always just been happy with the way they were going.   
“O-oh,” She stuttered. “I hadn’t considered that. Well, um, I should probably get to sleep, I have a lot of family to talk to tomorrow.” It was a poor excuse, she knew, but that was a big word. 

Alice bade the group goodnight once more before snuggling into Richie, and he instinctually put his arm around her waist. As she was drifting off to sleep, the thought crossed her mind that maybe, love wasn’t so out of the picture.

**Author's Note:**

> i think at this point i’m incapable of writing anything that isn’t fluff lmao


End file.
